I will allow this only for today

Today my readers, I will allow us to be pretentious and critical about some of the lows of North American food creations. Don't get me wrong, I am the first to say there is a true food revolution happening in the United States and that it is very possible and quite easy to find good, delicious, and creative food out there- as evidenced by my last few posts.

But sometimes there is this:

Mac-and-Cheese Pizza

I present you one website that had me chuckling today, and that is worth a gander. I give full photo credit for the image above to http://www.disgracesonthemenu.com/

Hope you get a chance to take a peek at this site. I headed straight to the "Top Tens" Section at the top of the page. 

After spending some time in Europe and eating many meals abroad, and I'm sure those of you that have travelled can agree, food labeling blunders and crazy (and sometimes mildly offensive) food combinations that are all too common WILL stand out more to you. Of course I'm not personally offended when I come across imitation French products marketing themselves as "the real thing," but it does make me think about the reasons behind such efforts on the part of food producers. It also certainly makes me reminisce about the different products and dishes I was lucky enough to try and my unyielding desire to recreate them here in the United States, in what I hope will be in a more authentic way than my pre-Europe days ( I've been since privy to regional food preparations by locals in France.) 

I get it though, it's hard! Finding ingredients here that are common elsewhere is a real doozy. And don't even get me started about the prices of certain things... cheese and wine for example. 

On a recent trip to a local liquor store (which shall remain nameless) that also sells "gourmet food" in Newton, my friend Emily and I spent almost seventy dollars on two kinds of imported cheeses (a brie and comté), some bread, apricot jam to accompany cheese, two small packs of beer (including one of my favorite beers of all time, the Tripel Karmeliet from the Brouwerij Bosteels in Belgium) and a bottle of Italian prosecco. Oh yes, and some gummy candies.

Seventy dollars! I miss the days of fresh unpasteurized milk cheeses for a more lowly sum, and of cheap beer. Take Prague for example... their very decent beers, even some of the better pilsners, were cheaper than water.

 

Readers from the U.S. and abroad, what do you think about this topic? 

 

Oink Oink

Pork

Puerco

Porc

Porco

The pig.
I've had pig's feet, pig's ears, fried pig's skin (called chicharron in Mexico) and all sorts of other types of preparations with different parts of the animal. Whatever flavorful preparation you choose, pork is always a versatile protein capable of lots of flavor and seasoning. 
What's your favorite?

Now, let me tell you about a recent meal I had- one truly worthy of a post. 

...It's very refreshing to see restaurants in this country taking it upon themselves to expose diners to variety, quality, and both local products as well as intriguing imports. 

One such place is The Salty Pig.

130 Dartmouth Street, Boston MA 02116. 
(617) 536-6200

Their menu was filled with different types of cured meats, tantalizing cheeses, as well as an exciting list of craft beers. We built our own board with the following:

-Culatello (according to our waiter, the "filet mignon of prosciutto." It comes from the main muscle group in prosciutto. It was extremely tender and flavorful. We learned that it takes an entire ham to make a block of Culatello. The other clippings get discarded! So you can see why it would be pricey.)

-Manchego Cheese

-Pork Rilletes made in-house. (The pork trimmings were extra large, but extremely tender and well seasoned. A good match with the pickles.)

- A nice Goat's Milk Cheese called Trés Bonne. It is described as a semi-hard mild goat cheese and it is aged 2-5 months. It was mild and nutty. Also read it was the Bronze Medal winner at the 2012 American Cheese Competition. 

-Finally, all of this was accompanied by fine crusty bread, pickles, mustard, smoked shallot marmelade, and my personal favorite- the Chianti jelly.)

Oh yeah, we also shared a nice thin-crust mushroom pizza. It wasn't the highlight of the meal, but it was a nice contrast to the saltiness of the meat and cheeses. The tomato sauce was tasty. 

What's more, what I loved about the Salty Pig was not only the impressive list of cheeses and meats- local as well as with occasional surprise import from Italy or Spain -rather,  it was the leisurely 2+ hour dinner with my friend Kara that was a wonderful change of pace. It was a culinary escape from the hustle and bustle of life and work in a big city. Our waiter took the time to actually explain everything on the menu as well as the daily specials in detail but he offered his opinion and commentary. Surely I know this is part of his job, but his effort felt honest and he seemed to enjoy the food very much. This kind of personalized service is what some establishments I've been to seem to really be lacking. 

Until this soirée, I had forgotten what this type of slow food service was all about. In the six months since I left France, I have grown accustomed, all to quickly, to the quick and often dismissive service at some American restaurants. At the Salty Pig, we weren't rushed to leave and the atmosphere was convivial, modern, laid-back, and cozy. 

To wrap up the post, no meal (or most meals) would be complete without a quality beverage. The night at the Salty Pig called for beer. Kara and I drank some...
- Woodstock Inn Brewery's "Pig's Ear Brown Ale"
- Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project's "Baby Tree" (a dark quadruple)
- and of course, and much to my delight, Delirum's "Tremens" (What a classic! oh the memories!)
          
           ** To read more about beer around the Boston area and beyond, check out Kara's  awesome father-daughter beer blog. What a good team they make. A must-read! 

                                                              http://beerschnabs.com/